


Still Jack and Daniel Series 2 - Ghosts of the Past IV - Getting To Know You

by Annejackdanny



Series: Still Jack and Daniel Series 2 - No Yellow Brick Road/Ghosts of the Past [9]
Category: Stargate SG-1
Genre: Kid Fic, M/M, h/c
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2012-10-02
Updated: 2012-10-02
Packaged: 2017-11-15 11:47:27
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 15,250
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/526968
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Annejackdanny/pseuds/Annejackdanny
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Little Daniel has a new friend, but things are never as easy as they seem to be</p>
            </blockquote>





	Still Jack and Daniel Series 2 - Ghosts of the Past IV - Getting To Know You

**Ghosts of the Pasat**

**IV**

**Getting to know you**

**I**

“Daniel! You're going to die any second... there, I toldya!” 

The two boys sitting on the floor of Daniel's tree house porch were battling against monsters on their Nintendos, fighting the fight of the good against evil. Alistair had brought a bag of games and Daniel had, tentatively at first, chosen some pirate treasure hunt. Apparently they had moved on to something that required shooting little critters off the screen in order to move from level to level. Yells of triumph and defeat wafted down from the tree, mostly coming from Al. Daniel was trying to keep it down a notch, but in between there was a whoop or a muffled curse from him, too.

Jack sat with his coffee mug at the wooden deck table and squinted up at the trees against the bright sun. Well, this was something he had to get used to. It was something he hadn’t thought he'd ever see happening.

He reached for the papers, smiling to himself at the mumbling shreds of conversation coming from the tree house. Something to get used to. But not a bad thing. Not at all. Jack went through the sports section, grimaced at the political pages and indulged himself with the cartoon page before he went on to the weather forecast. Sunny. Sunny. Sunny. Glorious sunshine forecast for the weekend. Good. Just the weather to have a birthday party.

His focus returned to the kids. It brought back memories of Charlie. His son always seemed to have other kids over. They had played catch or basketball, chased around the yard or played hide and seek. They used to hang out on the porch exchanging baseball cards or emptying the fridge. God knew where kids put all that food they gobbled down throughout the day. Had to be all that energy they burned while constantly running, jumping, climbing...

Daniel was different that way. Well, of course he was. Daniel always needed a purpose for rough-housing or running around like a kid. And be it just a smokescreen, like Jack tickling him or graciously giving into the “dog's need to play”. However, he gave in to those urges much more easily these days. Jack wondered if having a new friend would get his kid to loosen up even more.

He looked up from his paper when he heard someone galloping down the wooden tree house stairs. This, however, was one thing Daniel's adult side apparently couldn't suppress. If he wanted to get somewhere fast he forgot all his composure.

“Ja...” 

Jack was already out of his chair and halfway across the lawn as Daniel skidded and stumbled, then caught himself, and jumped down the last couple of steps. “Whoops... I was just going to get something to drink.”

“Nice stunt there,” Jack commented dryly, returning to his paper. “There's Seven Up and water in the fridge.”

Daniel made into the house, barely missing a beat, hollering a, “Thanks!”

A moment later he returned at a slower pace, carrying two glasses in his hands and a large plastic bottle of Seven Up wedged under his arm. Jack folded his paper and, before Daniel could climb up to his tree house, asked, “I need to get some paper work done in my office. Will you guys be okay alone out here?”

“Why wouldn't we?” Daniel frowned.

“No particular reason.” Jack shrugged. “Just want to let you know where I am in case you... need something.” Not every encounter Daniel had with regular kids had turned out well in the past. This new development was a little... unusual. 

“I'm fine, Jack,” Daniel said, understanding dawning in his eyes. “We’re having fun,” he bit his lip, “playing. Actually, yes. It's fun. Sort off.”

“Sweet.” Jack gathered his paper together so the summer breeze wouldn't blow it off the table. “The two of you stay on this side of the fence though, understood?” 

“Yes.”

“No sneaking out to chase the bad guys.”

“No.”

“No wandering off.”

“Jack, where would I wander off to? It's not as if this is some unexplored planet.” Daniel rolled his eyes.

“Oh, you could wander off and get lost in a pantry, Daniel,” Jack countered, smothering a grin at the indignantly wrinkled nose. 

“That was low. Even for you.”

“Just stay in the backyard.”

“Yes, we’ll stay in the backyard,” Daniel said with a suffering sigh as he turned smartly and hurried off.

  
  


Twenty minutes later Jack looked up from his laptop as the office door opened quietly. Daniel sauntered in, hands stuffed into the pockets of his jeans, bottom lip firmly caught between his teeth.

“Hey,” Jack said, turning back to his screen to save the report he was reading. Okay, so it was more like some budget statistic thing, boring as all get out. 

He heard Daniel's soft footsteps as he came over to stand next to him. “What are you doing?”

“This? Oh, reading and approving statistics.” Jack waved at the screen. “Sometimes I think I'm doing Walter's job.”

“Believe me you wouldn’t want to do Walter's job,” Daniel groused.

“No, probably not. What's up?” 

Daniel shrugged.

“Hungry?” Jack checked his watch. It wasn't lunch time yet. 

“No.”

“Bored?”

Daniel shrugged again.

“Where's Al?” 

“At the tree house.”

“Right. And you aren't at the tree house, because...?” Jack raised his left eyebrow quizzically.

“Um,” said Daniel. “Do we still have the, um...” He pursed his lips and scrunched up his nose as if getting the words out was the most difficult task he'd ever accomplished. “Dowestillhavethelegospacestation,” he finally exhaled with one breath.

“The Lego Space Station?” Jack repeated. “Sure. It's in your room, isn't it?” 

“No. I didn't want it anymore, remember?” Daniel sighed. “The space station never really appealed to me. You had more fun with it than I did.”

Jack had bought a box of Lego bricks and the space station set for Daniel shortly after his downsizing. The space station had come complete with space ships and little astronauts. In the end it had been Jack who built it while Daniel preferred his ancient pyramid building set with real stones and mortar or his 3D jigsaw puzzles. Daniel had only ever used the Lego to build replicators and destroy them, something he had started after the Reese encounter. Once he’d been over that need, he had stopped and never touched them again.

“It's probably in the basement, then,” Jack assumed, wracking his brain to remember where he'd put it.

“It's okay if you don't know where it is. Al wanted to play Lego and I was stupid enough to mention the space station. But we can do other stuff, I guess,” Daniel hurried to say.

“You can't play Nintendo all day though,” Jack pointed out. “You'll get cross eyed.”

“So what can we do?” Daniel asked. “Al doesn't want to play chess, he doesn't want to read and he doesn't want to play any board game. I don't have real toys. Well, except for the space station and some jigsaws. Al apparently doesn't like jigsaws either.”

“What about the pyramid building set? You used to have fun with that.”

“I used up all the bricks and mortar for the pyramid and temple I built. I wanted to show him yo-yo tricks, but he says that's boring. And he doesn't want to watch TV either. He wants to play Lego.” There was a little edge to Daniel's voice and Jack wondered if his buddy was already running out of patience with his new friend. 

Pushing back his desk chair he stood. “I'll dig up the space station. Actually you guys could help look for it.”

“I don't really want to play with the space station,” Daniel mumbled. “And I have work to do for...”

Torn between sympathy for the kid's dilemma and the urge to remind Daniel that he wanted the other boy to come over and stay the day Jack said, “We're on leave, remember? No worries about work. C'mon, get Al down here so you can help sort through the junk in the basement. Who knows? Maybe you'll find something better than the space station.”

“And what would that be?” Daniel sounded doubtful.

“Pretend you're digging for treasure.” Jack grinned at the scowl that met him. “Be a little imaginative, Daniel.” 

When the kid still looked miserable, Jack gave him a little push out the door. “Indulge your new friend for a while, then suggest something you wanna do.”

“Okay,” Daniel said reluctantly and went off to fetch Al.

***

“There aren't big spiders down here, are there?” Al wrinkled his nose as they descended the stairs following Jack into the basement.

“Aren't there always spiders in basements and attics?” Daniel grinned at his friend's shudder.

“I guess. Well, at least there's light down here and we don't have to make our way through the rooms with a flashlight. It's like that in the movies, you know? When the kids get trapped in the basement with no light and all sorts of monsters are crawling around everywhere,” Al chatted.

“What kind of movies have you been watching?” Daniel laughed.

“Monster House,” Al replied. “A bunch of kids explore a house and almost get eaten by it.”

“Seriously?” 

“It was animated. But cool,” Al said and opened a door to their left. “What's in here?”

“That's our laundry room. Where monsters eat left socks and underwear,” Jack said voice spooky. “Don't go in there if you want to live another day.”

Daniel couldn't help but giggle. “The only monster eating your socks is the dog.”

Al grimaced. “Your dog eats socks?”

“Oh, he rips them apart and chews on them. They’re his mortal enemies,” Jack growled.

“Only Jack's socks though,” Daniel added.

“That's just gross,” Al groused and stopped at the next door. “What's in there?”

“That's where we'll find the space station,” Jack announced. “The O'Neill junk and treasure room. Be careful not to step on any trolls. The little ankle biters don't take kindly to being disturbed.”

“Trolls?” Al looked doubtful.

“Oh, yeah. I'm part Irish, you know? There are Leprechaun and trolls living in my basement. They're usually friendly. They only come out on St. Patrick's day.”

“When Jack had his fifth green beer,” Daniel interrupted. 

“They’re too busy guarding my treasure the rest of the year. But they don't like people coming down here and poking around in the boxes.” 

“Why's that?” Daniel asked exchanging a grin with Al as they followed Jack into the junk and treasure room.

“Well, think about it. They live here. What if someone comes down and starts cleaning or throwing out the junk? That'd be a real tragedy,” Jack deadpanned. He switched the light on and took a look around the room with its various shelves and cardboard boxes stacked against the walls. “Looks clear. No trolls in sight.”

“Is there a pot of gold buried here somewhere?” Al seemed to be having fun playing along.

“If you find one, hand it over. In the meantime we're looking for the space station,” Jack said. “Or a magical box that holds everything you ever wished for.”

“Like the answer to every mathematical problem in the world,” Al said. “That'd be cool.”

Daniel added absently, “Or the wisdom and knowledge of the people of Atlantis.”

“Atlantis? I have a comic about Atlantis,” Al said. “I watched the movie, too.”

“It exists somewhere.” Daniel knelt down to open one of the nearest boxes wittily labeled 'stuff'. Inside he found a very ugly nightstand lamp, some wires and connector plugs and a broken light switch. Grimacing he closed the lid and pushed it aside. 

“Like where? At the bottom of the ocean? Like bikini bottom?” Al stuck his hands into another box and retrieved some old clothes that looked suspiciously like some of Daniel's grown up things. “Are these yours, Colonel O'Neill?” 

Jack turned and Daniel saw him frown at the blue and white checkered shirt and a brown tweed jacket Al held out to him.

“It's pretty ugly,” Al stated. 

Daniel stared at him and realized that, yes, it was. Ugly. Why had he ever worn blue and white checkered shirts and tweed jackets? And why on Earth did Jack keep this stuff of all things?

“They belonged to a friend. Put them away, please,” Jack said quietly.

“Okay,” Al said and stuffed shirt and jacket back into the box.

Daniel said, “You're right, they're pretty ugly.”

Jack was already working on the next box.

Stumbling over these relics from their past had somehow lost its magnificence for Daniel. He acknowledged them, but he didn't brood over them anymore. The first time he had realized the past had stopped hurting so much was when they had spent time at the cabin in Minnesota. It had been a bit awkward to return and be overwhelmed by all those memories, but Daniel had realized he could live with it.

And he assumed it was the same way for Jack. Whenever these little reminders popped up they paused and gave it a moment of thought, maybe a bit nostalgically, and then shrugged it off and moved on.

Daniel replied to Al's earlier question. “I'm sure Atlantis is hidden somewhere at the bottom of an ocean, but not on...” He bit his tongue and stared at the nearest shelf. A dusty basketball was sitting there and in it Daniel spotted a reflection. He blinked, but it was still there like a shimmering floating pool of water. When Daniel blinked again the small reflection grew and moved towards him before it opened like a window swallowing him in whole.

And when he blinked for the third time, he was standing on a balcony staring out at a cloudless sky. A light breeze was tousling his hair and caressing his face...

_...Looking around in wonder he saw towers and buildings, a sun glistening on the roofs and in the glass of the windows. Surrounded by nothing but water lay the city. Waves splashed lazily against the walls and docks. Small space ships entered the atmosphere, descended into hangars or took off from the city, flying in wide circles across the sky before vanishing into space. As the sun set,_ _its golden light seemed to caress the high towers and the vast ocean._

_It was beautiful. Breathtaking. Daniel licked his lips and tasted the salt in the air. He looked_ _for signs of people, maybe Aiyana telling him what exactly this city was. But when he thought about it, he already knew..._

...“Hey,” Jack's hand squeezing his shoulder brought him back. Confused, Daniel looked around. He was back in the basement and the smell of cellar and dust, so different from the clean salty air he just inhaled, made him sneeze once.

“Bless,” Jack said. “You okay?” 

“I saw it,” Daniel whispered, grabbing Jack's shirt to pull him closer. ”Atlantis, I saw it.”

Jack's hands gently cupped Daniel's face. “Daniel, look at me. You have to come out of it.”

“I'm fine. Sorry. I just...” He took a deep breath as his mind cleared and the image of the Lost City subsided completely. 

“Just try not to let anything slip while Al is around,” Jack murmured, patting his face. “Okay?”

“Yeah. I didn't mean to trigger anything. It just happened,” Daniel whispered.

“I know that. We'll talk about it later.” Jack let go of him and rose to his feet. “I'll go through the stuff on the shelves, you guys keep searching the other boxes,” he said aloud.

Oblivious to what just happened, Al was going through another box, pulling out books and continuing their previous conversation. “That's what all the stories say. That it's underwater. But no one’s found it yet. Maybe it's in Antarctica. Under the ice. Have you seen the movie? Atlantis The Lost Empire? I have it on DVD, I could bring it over tomorrow.”

“No, I haven't,” Daniel said, shaking his head. He bit his bottom lip hard before his mouth could betray him and spill the truth.

A truth, he suddenly realized, he hadn’t known before. Another mosaic piece had just fallen into place. Atlantis  _was_ located in an ocean. 

While they were digging through boxes with all kinds of knick knacks and the Christmas decorations Sam and Teal'c had bought last year, Daniel couldn't stop thinking about what he had seen.

The vision had been so vivid.

He still had no hint about the location of the Lost City and how to get there, but he knew his visions were becoming stronger. A shudder of excitement and fear ran down his spine as he absently opened another very large box and peered into it.

Hockey gear. A shirt, pants, knee and arm protectors and skates. The stick was missing though. Daniel realized he had never seen Jack on skates.

“I found it,” Al called from where he was hunched over something. “Wow, cool! A space station and a whole box of bricks! I have the Star Wars set. I could bring it over and we could build something real big together.”

Jack stacked the two boxes and carried them upstairs into Daniel's room. Placing them on the floor he wished them fun and left them to play.

To play.

Daniel sat cross legged on the rug in front of his bed and quietly watched Al rummaging around in the boxes.

It wasn't as if he couldn't imagine how to play with another kid after all this time. It had all been fine as long as they focused on the Nintendo. Still, he felt out of his comfort zone with all the Lego and Al being so excited about it, chatting about what other sets he knew and which ones he would like to get.

“Do you have an instruction plan for this?” Al took the box and tipped it over, scattering its contents all over the floor.

“It's on the back of the box, I think.”

“Yeah, but there should be one inside, too. I have several of these sets. The Android station, the Ice planet set. And the Star Wars set. I could bring them all tomorrow,” Al said enthusiastically.

“Okay,” Daniel said from a lack of anything else to say as he tentatively reached for a gray brick and turned it over in his hands as if he was studying a priceless artifact.

“There's a whole bunch of series of all kinds,” Al went on. “UFO, Star Wars, Life on Mars. I used to have part of the UFO collection but Bryan broke the larger pieces and flushed some of the blocks down the toilet.”

“I'm sorry,” Daniel said. Oh, if he could get his hands on Al's moron of a brother...

At least the anger helped him to get over the queasy feeling in his stomach because he wasn't sure how to 'play' with Al.

Al shrugged. “So are we gonna build something or not?”

Giving himself a mental kick, Daniel let go of his tiny piece of Lego and picked up a part of the space station's frame. “Sure, let's get started.”

He had 'played' with Lego before, when he’d built the replicators. And he had spent time with Tink-ah on the Svartal's planet. But he had never played like this with another kid. It was kind of awkward at first, but once he realized that Al didn't want to role play with the tiny Lego astronauts or pretend to be some alien monster, Daniel relaxed.

He left most of the construction decisions to Al who declared himself in command of the space station and so they built defense mechanisms, additional sections for lab and research, solar panels and hangars for the space ships. Daniel figured it wasn't much different than building the pyramids with stones and mortar or doing a puzzle. He didn't have to play alien and astronauts with voices or run around the room with one of the ships pretending they were attacking. Yet.

Al seemed to be totally engrossed in the building process of the station and that was right down Daniel's alley. Being a math whiz, Al even calculated how many bricks they needed to make the station bigger.

***

Jack eyed the contents of his fridge to see what they could put on their sandwiches. It was warm outside and they had planned to go to the park for a picnic later.

Satisfied with the result of his survey, he closed the fridge door and eyed his watch, itching to call the boys to get ready even though they had agreed to go around noon and there was still time till then. He had made his way to Daniel's room four times in the last two hours and stopped himself every time from knocking and checking on the kids under the smoke screen of offering milk and cookies.

Daniel would be fine.

_But he never had a playmate over_ , a niggling voice in Jack's head insisted.  _He never spent that much time with another kid._

So what? If he was uncomfortable he'd come out and eventually spill what was wrong.

Yeah, right. Daniel would probably sit through this play session with gritted teeth and later get all upset or gloomy because he had been stressed with the whole situation.

Jack sighed and checked his watch again.

The kid had asked Al to stay here so it wasn't as if Jack had forced a pal on him.

“Oh, for crying out loud,” he muttered. The beeping of his phone saved him from further brooding. 

It was Jackson calling from the grocery store. “Jack? Are you sure we need that many steaks? I'm going through your list and I don't think each of us will eat six...”

“I did the math on it.” Jack cut him off. 

“There are sausages, spare ribs and … uh... chicken breasts on your list too, Jack. How many people do you expect? The whole SGC?”

“Hey, you looked the list over and approved it.” 

“You added stuff.”

“I did not!” Well, maybe a tiny thing or two...

“Yes, you did!”

“I didn't.”

“Did.”

“Listen, just trust me, okay? It won't be too much food. Remember what Teal'c gobbles down? Besides, we can eat the leftovers next week.”

Jack heard a strange crashing noise and BD apologizing for bumping his cart into someone, then he was back on the phone. “Okay, fine. Whatever. How's Daniel?”

“He's playing Lego with his new friend,” Jack said as he sauntered into the living room and parked his butt on the edge of the coffee table. 

His couch was occupied by several books Daniel had somehow  _forgotten_ to return to his room. He had carried them into the kitchen this morning and when Jack told him no books at the breakfast table, he had apparently  _misplaced_ them here instead of putting them away properly. Jack's eyes caught the title “Vampires, myth and reality”. What the heck? 

“He's... what?” 

“Lego, he's playing Lego.”

“Right, um, really? Oh, hang on a sec, I almost dropped the glass with mixed pickles... Jack? Why do we need eight glasses of mixed pickles?”

“For the burgers... Daniel had another one of his zone out moments today.” 

“Burgers? What? Zone out moment?” 

“Yeah, you know...” Jack knew he probably should wait to discuss it when BD wasn't somewhere in a supermarket getting groceries for the b-day party, but he had been mulling this newest development over for the last two hours so he felt like sharing. 

“Oh, zone out, right. What'd he see?”

“Atlantis.”

Another metallic crash was the answer. BD talked to someone, then was back with, “Someone just tried to take my cart confusing it for his own... So, he saw it? Did he tell you where it is?” Even over the distance of the phone Jack could tell BD was interested.

“No, the other kid was close by and we didn't have a chance to talk about it yet.”

“Okay, err, I gotta go. I'll call you later. Oh, Jack?” 

“Jackson?”

“I'm cutting down your list a bit. Bye.”

“Oh, no you don't...” It was too late, Jackson had hung up on him. 

Great. Now they'd all starve. Well, at least it was Jack bringing the beer so there'd be enough of that. The American and the Irish brands at least. Jackson's new friend the Highlander guy would bring some imported stuff. Whatever. Beer was a good substitute for food.

Speaking of food...

Jack decided it was time to hit the road and called the boys so they could help put together sandwiches. That way they could decide whatever they liked on theirs and Jack wouldn't be on the receiving end of whining because he had chosen the wrong stuff.

“I've never been to Prospect Lake,” Al said as he artistically put tomato slices on his ham and cheese sandwich. “Where's that?” 

“It's at Memorial Park. Jack and I go there a lot. Jack, do we have old bread for the ducks?” Daniel was already done with two sandwiches and retrieved bread wrap from the lower cupboards.

“Look in the pantry.” Jack wrapped the sandwiches and threw them in their picnic basket along with several bottles of sparkling water and juice. He and Daniel were pros at putting together a picnic. They often decided to go to the park for a day on the spur of a moment and made sandwiches out of anything they had at the house. 

Daniel returned with a small paper bag full of old bread and added it to the things in the basket. He always took food for the ducks and spent time at the lake's shore feeding and watching them. Even Flyboy had learned to stay back and not chase the ducks. Mostly.

“What about swimming?” Daniel asked. “Should I get my trunks?”

“Uh,” Al muttered. “I don't have trunks with me. And I’d, um, rather not swim in a lake.”

Daniel stared at him curiously. “Why not?”

“Dunno. The water's all muddy and there are fish in it and stuff.”

Daniel's mouth formed a silent “Oh.” and he shook his head. “Swimming in a lake or the ocean is the best thing ever. Nothing like a public pool.”

“I never swam in a lake or the ocean, but I don't want to anyway,” Al said, crossing his skinny arms over his chest. “It's gross.”

“It's not. It's great. Haven’t you ever been at a beach? Or camping at a lake?”

“No, and why would I want to? There're mosquitoes and snakes and spiders and no Internet,” Al groused. 

“Oh, we can take you camping some time. You'll really like it,” Daniel offered enthusiastically.

“Daniel,” Jack interrupted quickly, “Go, get the blanket. And how about some card games?” Daniel looked like he wanted to express his opinion about the great outdoors versus public pools in more detail, but Jack took him by his shoulders and steered him towards the hallway. “Blanket, games, anything else you want to take,” he ordered and watched with relief as his kid complied for once.

Al looked kind of lost standing in Jack's kitchen, so Jack gave him an encouraging smile. “Don't worry. There are no giant spiders and snakes at Memorial Park.”

“Uh, okay,” Al said and blushed. “I didn't want to sound like a baby. I just really don't like big spiders. Or snakes.” 

Jack leaned closer to Daniel's new friend conspiratorially. “Wanna know what? I hate spiders and snakes, too.”

“Really? But you're a military man. You can't be afraid of anything at all,” Al said, his eyes growing wide.

“The trick is not to show the spiders and snakes you're scared. I'm squealing and screeching on the inside whenever one crosses my way.” 

“Oh. I see. You’re trained to suppress your true feelings,” Al said, clearly impressed. “Did they make you sleep in a cage full of spiders and tarantulas during Special Ops training? Like they do in the jungle show? You are Special Ops, right? And Black Ops? Like GI Joe?” 

Jack was saved from having to answer by Daniel's return. He was dragging the blanket along with one hand while he was holding the straps of his blue AF backpack with the other. “All set,” he announced with a huff, dropping the blanket to his feet and hoisting the pack on his back.

Al helped Daniel fold the blanket and Jack carried everything out to the truck and locked the house while the kids went to get their Nintendos from the tree house.

Their next problem was being short one booster seat. Jack didn't think anything of it when he let the kids climb into the truck. He just let Al take Daniel's seat and Daniel would be happy to go without. Jack was waiting for the day they could get rid of the simple booster seat cushion almost as longingly as Daniel. But even though he would turn nine in two days the kid was still too short and too light to go without one, according to the law. Knowing how much he hated the booster seat, Jack let Daniel ride without it on short trips anyway, so this wasn't much of an issue.

Al was impressed and apparently a little worried. “My dad would never ever do that. It's against the law,” he shared as they headed for Memorial Park.

Daniel said, “Oh, but it's kind of an emergency.”

“How's it an emergency?” Al asked doubtfully.

“Because otherwise we'd have to stay home,” was Daniel's reply. 

“That's not an emergency.”

Jack bit his lip to repress a chuckle and tried not to feel guilty about 'doing something against the law'.

Al continued to process his train of thought and came up with, “Of course he's a colonel in the Air Force. Maybe he has certain privileges. So if they catch him letting you drive without a booster seat he'll just show them his ID and they'll let us go. Right?”

Jack concentrated hard on the traffic and Daniel stared out the window, mumbling something under his breath that could have been, “He'll just shoot us out of there.”

Jack turned the radio on.

***

They found their favorite picnic spot near the huge oak tree. Daniel loved the oak. It had to be real old, almost ancient. Its rough bark looked like someone had craved patterns in it and its strong but gnarled branches reached far out across the water. He often climbed into the old tree until he found a crotch he could settle on and read. Sometimes Jack joined him. The oak was one of Daniel's peaceful places. He liked to sit up there and think. The splashing of the water against the shore was calming.

Jack and Daniel spread the blanket out on the grass in the sun and took off their shoes and socks before sitting down. They unpacked the picnic basket and after a moment of hesitation Alistair joined them. He settled on a corner of the blanket, keeping his shoes on and looking warily at the flock of ducks waddling along the shore. “They won't bite us, will they?”

Daniel handed Al his sandwich. “No, they're nice. They won't come closer until I rustle the bag.”

“Okay,” Al said as he bit into his sandwich.

Daniel looked at his new friend curiously, realizing he didn't know this kid at all, yet. They had just met yesterday. “Um, do you have a bike, Al?”

“Sure. A Felt Q20. It's blue and real fast. Do you have one?”

With a quick glance at Jack who was eating his own sandwich and gazing out over the lake, Daniel said, “I’m getting one for my birthday...”

Jack snorted. “Who said that?”

Daniel smirked. “It’s an educated guess.”

“Cool. When is your birthday? Mine's on November 3rd.”

“Um, on Friday,” Daniel said.

“Really? That's tomorrow. Are you going to have a party?”

“No.” The lie was out of his mouth before he even realized what he said. When Jack turned to look at him with raised eyebrows, Daniel ducked his head and stared at the red and green checks on the blanket.

“Oh,” Al said. “That's okay. I don't have parties either. Who would come anyway? And if I had one Bryan would ruin it.” 

“Your brother is a mean one, eh?” Jack handed Al a napkin so he could wipe tomato juice off his chin.” 

“Yeah.”

“And your parents never do anything about it? They just let him bully you?” 

“They stay out of it mostly. Sometimes they scold him, but they're not home much. Bryan's supposed to be in charge if we’re alone.”

Jack frowned. “They can't be busy all the time. There has to be a way to sit them down and let them know what's going on.”

“They're just busy,” Al repeated.

“Which is why we have to take matters in our own hands.” Daniel said fiercely looking up and into Al's green eyes.

Jack pursed his lips. “What's your plan?”

“If Al gets stronger, he'll also get braver. And if Bryan's gang realizes he isn't afraid of them anymore, and that he has backup now, they'll probably leave him alone.” At least that was what Daniel hoped for. That they only had to confront them once. These guys were so used to pushing Al around it would probably stun them into giving up if the whipping boy suddenly fought back.

“How do I get stronger?” Al held up his skinny arms. “I hate sports. I can run very fast to escape them. But that's it. I can't climb, jump or fight. I can't even throw a ball properly. And if I run too long I get all wheezy and my chest hurts.”

“Do you have asthma or allergies?” Jack wanted to know.

“No.”

“Okay. I guess your breathing is wrong.”

“How can someone breathe 'wrong'?” Al asked suspiciously. He probably thought Jack was yanking his chain.

“If you run longer distances you have to breathe properly so your lungs can keep up. Otherwise you'll get out of breath and your chest and sides start hurting,” Jack explained. “You can run much longer if you know how to breathe. You're skinny so you don't have to carry around much weight, which works for you. With a bit of training I bet you could out run those bigger boys if you put your mind to it.”

Alistair stared at Jack with his mouth hanging open. “Do you really think that?”

”Yeahsureyabetcha,” Jack said with a grin.

“And... and would you show me?” Two red spots on Al's cheeks gave away his excitement.

“You have to understand that this isn't something I'll just show you and that's it. You need some practice. And if you really want to fight back, we better introduce you to Murray.”

“If I can out run them, I won't have to fight back,” Al pointed out nervously. Glancing at Daniel he added. “Right?”

“But you can't always run. You can't keep running for the rest of your life. You have to stand up to them,” Daniel said, hoping he could get his point across sooner or later. He understood Al's fear of his older brother and goons. He had lived in constant fear of the Wrexler boys. But there had been nobody back then who offered to help. With Jack's support, Daniel could help Al, give him a fair chance to get rid of his tormentors. 

“But fighting is wrong. I don't want to get in trouble for fighting,” Al insisted. “If I fight them, they'll tell everyone I started it.”

“Oh, I don't think so,” Jack said. “Three big boys? They'll never admit that two little geeks knocked them on their butts. I wouldn't worry about that.”

“There you go,” Daniel almost yelled triumphantly. “It'd be way too embarrassing.”

“The goal isn't to beat them to a pulp, kids. The goal is to fight back and let them know you won't let them push you around any longer. If they don't back off however, there's only one other thing you can do,” Jack said.

“What?” Al and Daniel exclaimed as one.

“Expose them. Make sure people know when they attack you. Scream, yell, do whatever is necessary to get attention.”

“But...” Al's eyes were big as saucers.

“Make sure everyone knows what kind of goons they are. Make sure they get caught when they harass younger kids. I suppose you're not the only one being bullied by them?”

“Um, no. They steal lunch money from kids.” 

“For crying out loud, Al, you never thought of getting those other victims together and ganging up on these guys?” Jack shook his head. “What is it with you kids today? You ever heard of sticking together?”

Al blushed hard and shrugged. “I dunno. If we fight back we'll get in trouble.”

“Sometimes fighting back is worth a bit of trouble,” Jack said quietly. 

Al stared at him as if he had grown two heads. “But... you're an adult. You're not supposed to say stuff like that.”

“He's right though,” Daniel said. “If you never defend yourself, you'll never change anything. If they catch you fighting you'll get into trouble, but so will Bryan and his gang.”

Al hung his head. “I can't fight. I don't know how. They scare me.”

“Right,” Jack said giving Al a hard look. “If you want to learn how to fight back, I'm happy to show you. But here's one condition on my part. You have to talk to your folks about what Bryan does. If you don't want to do it alone, Daniel and I'll help. But if you really want him to stop, your parents have to know so they can support you.”

Daniel opened his mouth to object, but Jack immediately turned to him. “I mean it, Daniel. It's not open for negotiation.”

Not open for negotiation was bad. It was one of the 'no crossing' lines Jack had established. Daniel didn't want a scene in front of Al so he let it go. For now.

“I'll think about it, sir,” Al murmured.

“Good. Now go and feed those ducks so I can work on my crossword.” Jack shooed them off.

Daniel grabbed the paper bag and jumped to his feet. Al followed him to the shore, keeping his distance from the ducks. “Are you sure they won't bite?”

“Only if they confuse your finger for the bread. Look...” Daniel rustled the bag and immediately some of the brown and green feathered birds waddled over to them, quacking excitingly. 

He pulled out a handful of crumbs and started to throw them among the ducks who began picking eagerly at it. He held the bag out to Al, who shyly shook his head and stuffed his hands into the pockets of his jeans.

“You really don't like ducks, do you?” Daniel sighed.

Al didn't like dogs. He didn't like ducks. He probably didn't like any animals. He didn't like camping and swimming. It was getting a little frustrating. Al didn't seem to like books either. All he seemed to like was either working on his laptop, playing Lego or … Daniel took a deep breath and chided himself for his judgmental thoughts. He barely knew this boy, he had no idea what else Al liked. At least he wasn't dumb or talked about baseball or football all the time. Not everyone liked camping and swimming and digging and history Daniel reminded himself.

It would just be great to have a friend who liked all those things. At least a little.

He reached into the bag again, crouched down and opened his hand, holding it out to the ducks. Two of them came closer and carefully picked the bread from his palm, their hard beaks gently nudging his skin. “Look, they're really harmless. They won't bite you.”

Alistair shook his head when Daniel offered him the paper bag again and kept his distance. Once the bread was gone the ducks waddled into the water and went back to swimming or sitting in the sun.

“Do you want to climb the oak?” Daniel asked Al. 

“Um, no thanks.”

Daniel thought for a moment and then suggested, “We could go down to the water and look for stones. Sometimes there are pretty ones.”

“Stones?” Al stared at him as if he had grown a second head. 

“Um, or not.” Daniel used to pick up sticks and stones and throw them into the shallow water so the dog could chase after them. Of course without the dog, the purpose of looking for stones and sticks was gone, but they could have jumped the stones on the water. He suggested that to Al, too, but the other boy shook his head. 

Daniel tried hard to think of something else they could do. He hadn't been at the playground for some time...

“There's a playground.”

“Playgrounds are yucky. There are probably other kids who'd pick on me,” Al objected. 

Daniel couldn't argue that. He wasn't keen on going to the playground either when it was crowded. And on a July afternoon it probably would be bursting with little kids and older kids all wanting to climb the castle or go down the slides and use the swing sets.

“Oh, okay. Do you want to read something? I brought a couple of books,” he finally offered. 

“What books?” 

“I have one about myths and mysteries of the Celts, one about Ancient runes...” Al's face seemed to get longer and longer. Daniel mumbled, “And, um, a book about Hungarian vampires.” 

The last book he’d borrowed from the SGC library. He was researching the similarities of a new culture SG-11 had discovered on a planet that resembled vampires. To understand this civilization better, Daniel had been given the assignment to find out as much as possible about vampire myths and compare them with the intel SG-11 had gathered on their mission.

“You don't have comics, do you?” Al asked. “I like Spider Man and X-Men.”

“Um, no, sorry.” Daniel balled up the paper bag, threw it at the waste basket near the picnic tables – and missed. He trudged over to put it in and when he returned to their blanket, Al was rummaging around in the backpack and had retrieved a deck of play cards. 

“You brought Uno! That's cool. Let's play.”

Finally something they could do. Daniel happily sat down and they played rounds of Uno while Jack brooded over his crossword. When they grew tired of Uno, Daniel suggested playing Rummy. He’d brought an ordinary deck of cards, too. Jack joined them after a while and so they spent the afternoon playing several different card games. Al was a good player, with a keen eye for which combinations of cards worked best, and won many of the rounds.

The longer they played, the more relaxed Al became. Daniel usually preferred chess or board games to cards, but he was glad to see the other boy getting more comfortable, so he just kept playing Hearts, Solitaire and more Rummy.

Yet, by the time Jack made them pack everything and they were heading back to the truck, he was exhausted. He didn't think he’d ever played cards for so long in one day before. On their drive home, Al had his Nintendo out, playing Sodoku, while Daniel gazed at the traffic and let his thoughts wander.

This boy really liked numbers of all kinds. Daniel wondered if Al had more in common with Sam than with him. Had he really suggested Al come over every day for the rest of the summer? What had gotten into him? He caught himself being terrified at the thought. And relieved that Jack had only agreed to this arrangement for the rest of the week. It was probably a good thing they had to return to work after the weekend so Al had to go back to his daycare.

Today was Wednesday. One more day to go. Al wouldn't come back on Friday and the weekend because his mom would be home.

_But we won't solve the bully problem that fast_ , Daniel's conscience piped up.  _You wanted to help him! If he goes back to daycare he'll be bullied again._

Of course, Al was bullied at home as well. He was always exposed to his brother as soon as their parents left home.

They had to talk to Teal'c first and then it would take a couple of weeks until Al was ready to face his tormentors. And that meant they had to spend lots of time together. After work and on the weekends...

It was going to be a long summer.

Daniel sighed as he realized Jack was right. They couldn't help Al without talking to his parents and making them realize what was going on.

_They're not the Wrexlers,_ Daniel told himself.  _They won't turn a blind eye once they know._

“I have Kawashima's brain training at home,” Al said when they turned into his street. “It's one of my favorite games. Did you ever try it?”

“Yes, I have that too.”

“We could see who gets through all the levels first tomorrow,” Al suggested.

“Okay,” Daniel agreed readily. That would be interesting. And probably more fun than playing cards all day long. Maybe they would have more fun if he made plans for them. Prepared stuff to do? But what kind of games would Al want to play besides Lego, Nintendo and cards? In a spur of the moment Daniel said, “You could bring your comics.” 

“Sure. You're even more strange than I am, you know? Every kid has comics.”

“Well, I don't,” Daniel snapped and bit his lip feeling bad instantly. “Sorry,” he mumbled. “I just don't. Okay?”

“Okay.” Al shrugged, not in the slightest offended.

When Jack parked the truck in front of the Miller's house they all got out to meet Al's mom. He had shared earlier with them that his dad was gone on a business trip for a couple of days.

To his surprise Alistair's mom didn't turn out to be the detached, distant cold woman Daniel had imagined her to be. Mrs. Miller had humorous green eyes and shoulder length, straight brown hair. The business attire she was wearing - knee length skirt, white blouse and high heeled shoes in the same dark navy color as the skirt – looked wrong on her, almost as if it didn't fit. Daniel couldn't put his finger on it. She didn't look like someone who was used to this kind of dress code.

She hugged Al and kissed him on the cheek, then ushered them all inside while she addressed her son. “Did you have fun, honey? There's dinner in the microwave, it should be ready any minute.” She turned to Jack and shook his hand enthusiastically. “I'm Louise Miller, you must be Colonel O'Neill, Daniel's foster father. Al was so excited to find a new friend at daycare, he couldn't stop talking about Daniel and you all night.”

“Yeah, about that...” Jack began and Daniel saw that as his cue to jump in and steer the topic away from daycare and everything connected to it. 

Holding out his hand to Mrs. Miller he smiled brightly at her. “Hi, I'm Daniel. It's nice to meet you, ma'am.”

She took his hand and shook it. “Hello, Daniel. I'm glad to meet you, too.”

“Mom,” Al interrupted as he glanced nervously at a closed door. “Is Bryan home?” 

“No, he's staying at Mitch's overnight. I called the baby sitter, she'll be here in an hour.” 

“Who'd you call?” Al asked, clearly relieved at the news.

“Nancy Ambers. The gal from college. She’s been here before, remember? Oh.” Mrs. Miller hurriedly shoved Al into the kitchen. “Your dinner will be ready soon. Get your milk from the fridge so it won't be too cold to drink.” To Jack she said, “I’m sorry. I would ask you to stay, but I'm on my way to a business dinner. Maybe some other time though? This is just a bad time tonight and I'm already late.” 

“No problem,” Jack.said. “You know...”

She brushed past them and opened the door to a small bathroom next to the front door. Staring into the mirror above the sink she put some last touches to her makeup, leaving the door open. “Things are a little hectic this time of year. We’re looking for sponsors for our company and Arthur, that's my boss, he insists that I attend the meet and greets with potential sponsors. I really really hate this.” She pursed her lips as she put on lip stick.

“Al said you're a scientist,” Daniel said.

“Doctor of biology, actually. We are working with DNA. Do you know what that is, Daniel?”

“Yes, it has to do with genetic codes and human evolution,” Daniel replied.

She stopped with the lip gloss and smiled at him. “That's right.”

“Mom is trying to find a cure for diseases like cancer and genetic disorders,” Al called from the kitchen, pride lacing his voice.

“Something like that, yes.” Mrs. Miller smacked her lips and took a last look into the mirror. “So usually I'm holed up in a lab and don't have to do much in the venue of social events. I'm quite nervous.”

Daniel could sympathize with that. He had hated the occasional meetings in Washington they had to attend wearing a suit, wandering around a room making small talk and sipping from cocktail glasses. He had been a diplomat among other things, but he’d never gotten used to the dressing up and making nice with politicians part of his job. “I'm sorry you have to go through this,” he said sincerely. “Good luck in finding a sponsor though.”

She laughed. “Thank you, Daniel.”

Jack cleared his throat. “We'd better... “

“Yes, of course, I'm sorry. And I want to thank you for inviting Alistair over. Are you sure it's not too much trouble if he comes back tomorrow? He can just go to daycare... Now, where are my ear rings? Excuse me...“ She rushed past them again and, a moment later, returned with a pair of small golden ear pieces. “I keep misplacing things when I'm nervous,” she said apologetically. “Anyway... if Al is too much trouble, just let me know.”

“He isn't any trouble,” Daniel hurried to say and tugged at Jack's arm to make him put a word in.

“No,” Jack said lamely. “No trouble at all. Look, Mrs. Miller, we should talk about...”

“Yes, we should meet and have a proper talk. I'm really very sorry I can't chat now.” She sighed. “Where is my purse?”

“In the kitchen, mom.” Al appeared in the doorway holding out the purse for her. 

“Oh good. Al, say bye to your friend. And don't eat your dinner in front of the TV, you hear me?” She took her purse and went through it. “Where is my lipstick?”

“Ah, in the bathroom?” Daniel suggested.

“Oh, of course!” 

“Bye, Daniel. Bye, Colonel O'Neill. Thanks for taking me to the park. I had fun,” Al said with a quick eye roll about his mom's antics.

Mrs. Miller frowned slightly. “You took him to the park?”

“Yep,” Jack said. “The boys played cards and fed the ducks, nothing fancy.”

“Oh, good good. Next time Al should take his cap against the sun. I hope he didn't get sunburned.”

“We didn't go swimming and spend most of the time under the trees,” Daniel said.

“Swimming?” Mrs. Miller looked horrified. “No, that's not possible. Al can't go swimming outside. It's dangerous and he might catch a cold.” 

“Right,” Jack said, sounding slightly desperate. “Is there anything else I should know about? Things he can't do or food he can't eat?”

“No, no, don't go to any trouble.” She patted his arm, then whirled around and hugged her son. “Bye, sweetie. Be good and don't stay up too long. Nancy will be here in ten minutes or so.”

And then Jack and Daniel found themselves standing on the quiet street in front of the Miller residence staring at the blue car Al's mom had jumped in. When she honked as she passed them, Jack visibly twitched and winced. “Oh-kay,” he drawled. “That was...”

“Weird,” Daniel said, still gaping at the empty street. The air around them seemed to vibrate with all the nervous energy Al's mom had exuded. 

Rubbing his temple, Jack gave him a gentle nudge. “Come on, let's go home.”

**II**

The kid was silent on their short drive home and continued to be rather quiet during a quick dinner consisting of microwaved frozen pizza. Jack suspected Daniel was worn out and didn't push any conversation even though he wondered what kind of impression the day had left on the munchkin.

Jack himself was still trying to recover from the super force that was Al's mother.

“I'm tired,” Daniel sighed, nibbling on a pizza crust. “Do we have ice cream?”

“Chocolate chip,” Jack confirmed and smiled when Daniel's eyes lit up.

“So, do you have any plans for tomorrow?” he finally asked serving them huge chunks of ice cream complete with whipped cream and chocolate sprinkles on top. He felt like they really deserved it. 

They got comfortable on the couch once Daniel had moved his books from there to the floor. He devoted himself to his ice cream for a moment, closing his eyes blissfully at the first couple of mouthfuls. Licking his spoon clean like a kitten and diving in for more of the cold dessert he said, “I now know a lot of things Al doesn't like to do.”

Jack hadn't caught all of the boy’s conversation, but he had sensed an underlying tension between them at the park until they’d started playing cards. “What about the things he does like?”

“Um,” Daniel said. “He likes Lego apparently. And math stuff. Books not so much. But he's bringing his comics tomorrow. And the Nintendo brain trainer. The one you always say was only invented to drive you nuts.”

“Ah.” Jack tried to picture Daniel reading comics and failed. “Maybe the two of you can watch a movie and surf the net. Only safe sites though.”

Daniel gave him a hurt look. “What do you think I am? Stupid? Besides, I don’t go to any weird sites either. Not harmfully weird anyway.”

“Like slash fan fiction for Pirates of the Caribbean?” Jack smirked, remembering a very weird phone conversation they had while he had been at the cabin and Daniel stayed with his big version. 

Daniel gave him a dark look. “That was a one time thing and only because Teal'c pointed me to it. Sam liked it, by the way. And I'm not going to expose a real child to something like that.”

Ouch. Someone was a bit edgy. “All I'm saying is you have to keep an eye on him. He might have ideas of his own, you know?”

“Oh. Okay. Jack? Can we ask Teal'c about Al on Saturday?”

Jack had given the whole idea some thought. Basically he agreed with Daniel, but first they had to establish how to make this work. “Are we clear about talking to Al's parents?”

“You won't back off on that one. So, yeah, I guess.”

“That's right.”

“Good luck with getting Mrs. Miller's attention long enough so she'll listen to you,” Daniel snarked.

“She won't always be in a hurry,” Jack grumbled. “And there's something else. I want to talk about this with Doc Svenson.” He had mulled it over on their way back from the lake and decided the psychologist might be able to give him some clues on how to deal with Al. 

And what the hell had he gotten himself into anyway? Hadn’t he lectured Daniel on how revenge was a bad thing? That they shouldn’t go and try to beat up the bullies? But that had been before he’d gotten a more clear and detailed picture of how bad this really was. Maybe those kids really needed to be taught a lesson. He just hoped this wouldn’t come back to bite him some day.

Daniel fiddled with his spoon for a moment. “Okay,” he agreed reluctantly.

“Good. Now, why don't we wait and see how the kid does with some basic running. There's a fitness path at Prospect Lake we could make him work through. If he doesn't get tired of it, we'll ask Teal'c.”

“He can't get tired of it. If he wants to get rid of those kids he has to do something,” Daniel said determinedly. 

“You're right. But he needs to want that. You can't force him. Remember how much you hated your lessons with Teal'c in the beginning?”

“But I didn't give up. I continued them because I knew it was good for me.”

“But you are a disciplined little guy when you put your mind to it. Because you think like an adult.” When Daniel snorted Jack shrugged. “In some ways you still do, or at least try to. Al's just eight years old. And you have to keep in mind that you went through hand to hand combat training when you were big. You just regained your coordination and added to what you already could do. This is all new for Al.”

Daniel absently played with his spoon and scowled. “But...”

“One step at a time, okay?” Jack didn't have the heart to tell Daniel he doubted Al would go through with a training program. He wasn't sure the kid had it in him. 

Letting out a slow breath, Daniel nodded. “Okay.”

Whoa. Three agreements at once. That was almost too good to be true.

They continued to eat their ice cream in companionable silence and when it was apparent that Daniel wasn't ready to talk about his day yet, Jack carefully asked him about his zone-out-moment.

“It was cool!” Daniel immediately sprung to life as he waved his spoon at Jack to underline his words. “Atlantis is a huge city. I've never seen anything like it before. It has towers and bridges and many different buildings and balconies and there were small ships flying to and from the city, emerging from somewhere inside it. But the most incredible thing? It's surrounded by water. Nothing but endless ocean! So some of the myth is true. Atlantis really lies in an ocean. Maybe it can be submerged like a sub. Maybe it has a shield that protects it from enemies.”

“Did you get any information with what you saw?”

Daniel shook his head. “No. I think the vision was interrupted. Maybe because you touched me. Or because Al was there, I got distracted. Or maybe it's not time yet for me to know more.” He fished for the last bits of melted ice cream in his bowl with the spoon. “I hope this doesn’t happen again while Al is here. I can't give away classified information.”

“It's not like you can control these things.” Jack said. “Don't worry. It wouldn't make sense to the kid anyway. And even if it did, he'd probably think you're making something up.” 

“But what if I have a more serious, um, moment?” Daniel swallowed hard. “What if... you know... I figure out how to fight Anubis while I'm with Al? What if I really zone out, not just for a moment? What if things start to get serious?”

Jack didn't have an answer to that one, so he just said what he hoped would reassure Daniel for the moment. “One way or the other, we'll deal with it. Let's hope we'll have some more time before anything like that happens.”

Daniel plopped back on the couch, pulled his knees up to his chin and wrapped his arms around them. “I'm tired,” he said again and yawned to underline it. “I think I'll just go to bed.”

He really looked beat. And pensive.

“Are you sure you're okay? On a scale from one to ten, how was your day with Al?” 

Daniel didn't reply. Gloomily he stared at the black TV screen and hugged his knees more tightly. He looked like a little turtle. “I dunno,” he finally mumbled.

“It wasn't all bad, right?” 

“No, I guess not.” 

Jack didn't want to let Daniel go to bed in a mood like this. But there was no point in trying to pry anything out of him now.

“I'm fine. Just tired.” Unfolding himself from his turtle position Daniel slipped from the couch and gave Jack a sloppy wave. “Don't worry, okay? I can see the mother hen alarm blinking in your eyes.”

“Hey, I care, so sue me.” Worried, Jack watched Daniel leave.

When he checked on him twenty minutes later the boy was curled up under his covers pretending to be asleep. With a sigh, Jack tousled his hair and wished him a good night wondering what tomorrow might be like.

***

Al brought a bag full of comics, several more Nintendo games and his STAR WARS Lego set. His mom dropped him off around nine and was in as much of a hurry as she had been the night before.

“Is she always like that?” Jack asked, looking a little dazed as Mrs. Miller breezed out the house.

“Pretty much,” Al grinned. “We overslept because she forgot to set the alarm clock.”

“Oy.” Jack went to get himself another coffee while Daniel eyed Al's bags with mild curiosity. 

They decided to carry everything but the Lego set up into the tree house and Al made Daniel read a dozen X-Men comics all the while droning on about the things he liked about X-Men until Daniel's head was spinning. But he slowly got an inkling of why Al liked his comics so much. X-Men was a lot about mutants and people being different from the norm. Super Heroes with altered gene codes who were fighting against evil in a futuristic world. Daniel, who had seen many impossible and weird things in his time on SG-1, wasn't all that impressed with the X-Men universe, but he took a kind of liking to some of the characters, like the one who could freeze everything around, or the woman who had telekinetic and telepathic powers.

When Al got bored with the comics they started their competition on the brain trainer, but Al got bored with that, too, before they could reach the higher levels, so they switched to a Spongebob Squarepants game where Spongebob gained superpowers through something called the Mermaidman's superhero belt and had to fight The Dirty Bubble.

Daniel quickly discovered that this game definitely wouldn't be one of his favorites. It gave him a headache. And sadly this time Al didn't get tired of it soon enough.

After an hour of having to endure Spongebob's squeaky voice and the shrill sounds of the game Daniel took a break under the guise of getting something to drink.

Jack was dusting the living room when he entered the house. All of a sudden doing chores seemed to be much more appealing than having to return to the tree house. So when Jack pointed at the heap of books still sitting on the floor next to the couch and raised his left eyebrow meaningfully, Daniel didn't even argue. He just picked them up.

As he carried the books to his room, he had to smile at the irony of how Jack would probably love playing Spongebob on the Nintendo for hours. He wished they could swap. Dusting wasn't a bad thing compared to Spongebob.

When Daniel returned to the tree house Al had thankfully abandoned the Nintendo and was looking through the books on the shelf. “You're very strange, you know?” he greeted Daniel. “I don't know anyone with so many books. It's weird.”

Daniel put the bottle of Seven Up on the table and shrugged. “I like books.”

“But why? If you can have movies or comics or games, why books?”

“Look, you don't have to read them, okay? I'm not forcing you to do stuff _you_ don't like,” Daniel snapped.

“'m just saying.” Al pulled a book out and looked at the title. “Who's Budge? And what's the Book of the Dead?”

“The Book of the Dead is an Egyptian book and Budge did a very bad translation. He was wrong on all levels,” Daniel automatically replied as he filled their glasses.

“If it's bad, why do you have it?” Al queried. 

“I took notes about everything that's wrong. It's, uh, kind of a hobby.” In fact Daniel had felt a deep satisfaction by nitpicking Budge. The whole book was scribbled full of corrections and notes.

“You ARE weird,” Al decided with a snort.

“I'm not. Not any more than you are anyway.” Daniel felt the heat of embarrassment rise in his cheeks. Why was it that Al was so weird himself and still thought Daniel was even more weird? 

“Sure you are. No one buys books he hates and scribbles in them.”

“Well, I do,” Daniel said stubbornly. “If you don't like it, don't look at it.”

“And what makes you think you know more about this dead book than this guy?” Al started flipping through the book. “Wow. You can't know all this stuff. You made it up, right?”

Daniel grabbed for Budge, ripping it out of Al's hands. “Leave it alone!”

He slammed the book back into the shelf and spun around to Al, who stared back at him with wide eyes. “Hey, I don't care if you made all this up. But won't your dad get mad that you wrote in the book? It seems to be old. Like ancient or something. Did it cost lots of money?”

“It's my book,” Daniel said curtly. “And I didn't make any of this up. It's all true.” He knew it was foolish to even continue this argument, but he had indulged the other boy all the time. Had tried to play along and do what Al wanted. He didn't have to let Alistair belittle his books or make fun of them. He didn't have to listen to this period.

“You can’t know hieroglyphs and stuff like that. You're just pretending,” Al insisted, getting angry now.

“And why would I do that?” 

“Because you want to know all this stuff! And you made it up to pretend you do.”

“I didn't!”

“Did!”

Daniel exhaled deeply and pointed at Al, stabbing the air with his finger. “Just because you don't know anything about ancient Egypt doesn't mean I don't!”

“And where would you have learned to read hieroglyphs and translate them?” Al scoffed, but he looked a little insecure.

“My parents taught me. I speak many languages, remember?” Daniel said quickly. Part of the cover story. And not entirely a lie. He’d had his first experience with hieroglyphs under the gentle guidance of his parents who had taught him words and phrases.

“When you lived in Egypt,” Al nodded and grimaced. “Who knows if that's even true.”

“Why... why would I lie to you?” Daniel was stunned at this accusation.

“Dunno. To make yourself interesting.” 

Before Daniel could think of a good come back, there was a knock at the door and Jack entered. “What do you guys think about lunch?” he asked.

Al shrugged and Daniel ground out, “I'm not hungry.”

“Well, I made green salad and there are chicken wings in the oven,” Jack offered.

“I don't like salad,” Al whined.

“Then you just eat the chicken wings.” Jack turned to Daniel and apparently sensed something was up because Daniel noticed a slight frown on his face. But to his relief Jack just told them to come down in ten minutes and left.

Al threw himself on the couch and started playing with his Nintendo while Daniel pulled out one of his books and sat on the floor pretending to read.

Lunch was very quiet while both boys picked at their food and glared at their plates. Jack tried to keep the conversation going but gave up pretty soon, which suited Daniel just fine.

After a while Al suddenly broke the silence. “Colonel O'Neill, is it true that Daniel lived in Egypt?”

“Yep, actually he lived there until he was seven,” Jack said.

“Oh,” was Al's reply and Daniel shot him a hard look, satisfied when the other boy blushed and averted his eyes. 

After lunch Jack offered to take over Daniel's kitchen duty, but Daniel quickly assured him it would be fine. To his surprise, Al volunteered to help and so they cleared the table and put everything into the dishwasher together, while Jack went to repair the sprinkler in the garden.

“I never knew anyone who lived in Egypt before,” Al said finally. “It's not normal.”

Great. Now Daniel was a freak or something. He gritted his teeth and wiped the kitchen table with a wet cloth.

“It's just... different,” Al continued. 

“Yeah, I get it, thanks. I thought, since we're both weird, we'd get along better,” Daniel huffed.

“But you're different weird,” Al muttered.

“There are different kinds of weird,” Daniel said. 

“I suppose.” After a moment of silence Al concluded, “I guess that's okay, too.”

They looked about the clean kitchen and at each other. Mentally preparing himself for another round of noisy colorful Nintendo games, Daniel asked Al what he wanted to do next.

Al wanted to play Lego again, so they set up the STAR WARS set and combined it with the space station they’d built yesterday. In the middle of building and re-building, Al got bored again and wanted to watch a movie.

“Do you like The Wizard of Oz?” Daniel asked hopefully. It was the one kid movie he really liked. Aside from the Harry Potter movies maybe. 

“What's Wizard of Oz?” 

Daniel blinked. “Uh, it's a book. But also a movie. And a cartoon series. You know, Dorothy and Toto and the Cowardly Lion and...”

“Isn't that for babies?”

“No, it's...” Daniel searched for the right word and finally came up with, “Cult. I guess. Let me get the DVD.” Before Al could object he dashed out into the living room to retrieve the movie. 

Hoping Al would like the Wizard of Oz, Daniel popped the disc into his player and they settled on his bed. “It's so cool you have your own TV and player,” Al remarked. “I can’t have one until I'm ten. Mom says too much TV makes you dumb.”

“I don’t watch that much,” Daniel said absently. He only used his own TV if Jack and he couldn't decide on something to watch together. Or if Jack was watching hockey.

They watched for about half an hour before Al got restless again. Daniel sighed inwardly and tried to ignore his new friend as he jumped from the bed and wandered around the room touching this and that and picking up more of Daniel's books to look at them. In a way this behavior reminded him of Jack. Only he was used to it from Jack and had learned to ignore it mostly. Al doing the same thing irritated him for some reason.

When Al picked up the box with the sand from Egypt Jack had given him for Christmas, Daniel leaped from the bed and took it out of the other boy's hands. “Uh, that's personal, sorry.”

“What's in it?”

“Something that reminds me of my parents. And Egypt.” Daniel carefully placed the oriental looking box back on his desk. 

Al shrugged and moved on to look at the miniature pyramid and temple Daniel had built. “Did your dad help you with those?”

“Not exactly. But he was happy when I finished it.” His 'dad' had thrown a fit when he had come into Daniel's room and discovered tiny limestone bricks and splotches of mortar all over the floor. And then he had thrown another fit when he discovered Daniel had mixed the mortar in one of the new Tupperware containers Sam had given them for Christmas two years ago. That had been in Daniel's first year as a child when every new day had been a new struggle and fight to reject his new state of being. And neither Jack nor Daniel had been very calm about anything at the time, so there had been tantrums on both sides. In the end Daniel had finished his architectural work under Jack's watchful eye at the kitchen table. But Jack had admitted later, he’d been impressed with the outcome. 

Next Daniel had to explain who the guy in the picture riding a camel was. He said it was his uncle Daniel who had been missing for a while, but was now back and lived not far from them. And then Al spotted the pic of Daniel's parents, but didn't ask too many questions about them. There was a picture of SG-1 that caught his attention and Daniel said it was Jack's unit and yes, his uncle Daniel. was part of that unit and yes, the bald guy with the tattoo was Murray. In reality both pictures with big Daniel in them were from before Daniel's downsizing, but he couldn't tell Al that.

“He looks scary,” Al stated, gazing at Teal'c in the photo he was holding.

“He's very gentle. He doesn't talk much though. And he can fight.”

“Is he from some tribe? Is that tattoo a sign of where he comes from? It looks golden. Even his skin looks a little bit golden.”

“The tattoo is the sign of slavery. He was a slave in Africa once, and yes it is gold,” Daniel said, feeling more and more uncomfortable with having to make up all this, even though it was all part of the established cover stories they had made up about Teal'c.

“I don't think I wanna meet him. He looks really mean.” Al shuddered and put the picture away. “Do you have any candy?” 

Daniel went to get some M&Ms. When he returned he found Al back on the bed zapping through the TV channels.

“Murray isn't mean,” he tried to steer the conversation back to important matters. “You don't have to be scared of him. He's giving me training lessons twice a week. We do lots of fun stuff. He takes me out into the woods and makes me balance on tree trunks blindfolded, or he teaches me moves so I could defend myself against a much bigger... guy.” Daniel almost said enemy, but stopped himself in time.

When he saw the expression of horror on Al's face he realized that he had reacted just like that not so long ago at the mere thought of having to go through lessons with Teal'c. “I hated it too,” he admitted. “At first. But then I got used to it. And now I kinda like doing it.”

He didn't say anything about the other things he sometimes did. Like raging a storm against the punching bag at the SGC gym when he was overwhelmed by frustration and anger about things he couldn't accomplish as he was used to. It didn't happen all that often anymore, but it was still something he liked to channel his anger into if he felt the need.

“Can you teach me to read hieroglyphs?” Al asked, suddenly changing the subject.

Daniel blinked, surprised. “You want to read hieroglyphs?”

“And write them.” Al nodded. “It would be so cool. Could you teach me?”

“Um, sure.” 

“It'd be something only you and I could read. Like a secret code,” Al went on. “If we're really going to be friends, that would be totally spacy. And I could write my journal in them so Bryan can't read it even if he breaks the lock.”

“You're journaling?” Daniel asked.

“Yeah. Nobody else to talk to.”

“Me too. Journaling.” Daniel switched the TV off and opened his desk and retrieved a couple of paper sheets and pencils. “I can show you how to write and read Egyptian hieroglyphs.”

“Neat,” Al beamed and they settled down at the desk for their first lesson.

Al turned out to be a quick study and as the afternoon went by, they established a row of signs and their meanings. Daniel wrote down a link for Al to look up where he could find out more about hieroglyphs and some simple learning methods. They ended the lesson when Al began to fidget again, but when Daniel glanced at his watch he realized they had been working for two hours straight. That wasn't too bad.

“What are you gonna do over the weekend?” Daniel asked Al when they were back at the tree house to read more comics. “Will Bryan get on your case?”

“Bryan's mad because I'm not at daycare,” Al grinned. “And mom will be home this weekend for a change and Bryan has a game tomorrow. So he’ll leave me alone most of the time.”

At least these news made Daniel feel a little bit better about not inviting Al to his birthday. He felt like he should have, but part of him was just glad the week was over and Al would stay home tomorrow. He wasn't happy with himself for thinking like that, but when Al left at six, Daniel felt like he had been negotiating with some alien tribe all day long.

His head hurt and when he returned to his room after saying goodbye to Al and his always-in-a-hurry-mom, he just stepped over the tons of Lego scattered all over the floor and slumped on his bed.

***

When Al had been ushered out of the house by his mom – she had another of those business dinners to attend and was very sorry she couldn't stay and chat, but Jack had such a lovely house and had he ever thought of painting his hallway yellow or brown? Earth tones should be his color and it would give the house such a homey feeling. And then she had left before Jack could even open his mouth to tell her he liked his home and his hallway the way it was.

Daniel had mumbled something about needing a break and not being hungry and had scurried into his room as fast as Mrs. Miller had dashed out of the house, leaving Jack alone in his white painted, not homey hallway.

Oy.

He went to the kitchen, got the hamburger helper from the pantry and burger meat from the deep freezer. He was hungry and he hoped the smell of cheeseburger would lure the kid out to have a bite to eat. But Daniel didn't show up as Jack cooked and so he went to tell him about dinner.

“I'm really not hungry,” came the muffled voice from behind Daniel's closed door.

“Cheeseburger a'la O'Neill,” Jack bribed. 

“No, thanks.” Daniel sounded tired and defeated.

Jack had learned to pick his fights a long time ago and now apparently wasn't a good time to prod and nag to get the kid to either eat or talk to him. So he finished the burgers, put Daniel's on a plate for later and started eating his own, feeling a bit lonely in the quiet kitchen. Not even the dog was here to keep him company.

When Jack had done the dishes and the Wretch still hadn’t shown up, it was time to investigate and let the O'Neill charm work its magic.

Knocking at Daniel's door, he announced, “I'm coming in now.” He waited and when there was no negative reply, entered to find his pint-sized friend lying on his bed, gazing at the ceiling.

“You want to talk?” Jack asked. _Yep. Very subtle, O'Neill,_ he thought as soon as the words left his mouth. 

“Not really.” 

Jack crossed the room to join Daniel on his bed - and groaned and cursed as he stepped on the tiny Lego bricks covering the ground. “Dammit, Daniel... why didn't you guys put away your toys?!”

“We forgot,” Daniel said without looking at him.

Carefully pushing the little blocks aside with his feet, Jack set down on the edge of the bed and rubbed his right foot. “I remember this,” he muttered. “From Charlie.”

Daniel didn't say anything.

“Was a long day, huh?” _C'mon, Daniel, talk to me_.

“I'm just tired.”

“Is that the new code for 'I'm fine'?” 

Daniel continued to gaze at the ceiling, but sighed. “You won't go away, right?”

“Actually... I kind of missed you these last two days. I'm not used to being second best,” Jack whined a little in an attempt to at least get Daniel's attention. “Was wondering if you wanna watch a movie. That is if you're not too tired.” 

“Okay, yeah, I guess,” Daniel murmured. “Pick one. No Simpsons.”

“Your lack in taste is very disturbing,” Jack said. “C'mon. There're chips as substitute for dinner if you want. Or you could have your cheeseburger.”

In the living room Jack looked through their combined DVD collection, chose an old black and white movie, and popped it in.

Daniel, who was slouched on the couch now, sighed. “Arsenic and Old Lace?”

“You like it.” Jack shrugged. It was true. It never failed to make Daniel laugh, giggle or at least smile. They used to watch it together when Daniel had still been six feet tall and it had never failed to make him laugh then either.

By the time Jonathan and Doctor Einstein were getting Mister Spenalzo into the house to bury him in the Panama channel, Daniel had eaten a quarter of his re-heated cheeseburger and was curled up on the couch, his eyes halfway closed.

Jack was about to turn the TV off and get his kid to bed, when Daniel suddenly asked, voice drowsy, “Do you like Al, Jack?”

“He seems to be a nice kid,” Jack offered. “It's hard to tell after two days.”

“I didn't invite him to my birthday party,” Daniel murmured, rubbing his eyes.

“I noticed that.” 

“That was impolite, wasn't it?” Daniel uncurled and lay on his back.

There had to be something very exciting at the ceilings of their house, Jack decided.

“It's your party, Daniel. You can invite whoever you want.”

Daniel tipped his head back and squinted up at Jack, his eyes almost crossing in the effort to see him. “But if he is my friend now, I should have invited him.”

“You’ve only known him for a few days. It's okay to not invite him this year,” Jack said patiently. “If you stay friends, you can invite him next year.” 

“If I'm still little next year.”

“If you are still little,” Jack agreed.

Daniel flopped over on his belly, took off his glasses and started nibbling on one of the earpieces. “Being with Al feels like having to deal with some of our allies and being a diplomat. It wasn't really bad, but it wasn't really fun.”

“You're still in the stage of getting to know each other. Give it time.”

“What if I decide I really don't like Al? What if he annoys me? What if he decides he doesn't like me?” 

Jack reached for Daniel's glasses and tugged them out of his hands before he could start chewing the earpieces. “You have to be patient. Try to see it as a mission. But keep in mind it's not a life and death thing.”

“Part of the exploring childhood thing,” Daniel sighed.

That's what Svenson used to call it. Daniel's 'mission' to 'explore childhood'. She had come up with the analogies once Daniel had expressed his willingness to be more open to his inner child.

“If Al decides he doesn’t like you and that he doesn't want to play with you anymore, you have to accept that,” Jack continued as he folded the glasses and put them on the coffee table. “It won't be your fault.”

“I would have failed,” Daniel objected.

“Al has a free will and either you two click or not.” The last thing Jack needed was Daniel on a new guilt trip. 

Daniel didn't reply to that and Jack turned off the TV. When the Wretch rolled over on his back again and continued to stare at the ceiling, Jack tapped his shoulder. “For what it's worth, Danny, you're doing the right thing. Even if it doesn't work out the way you want, you tried. And you're giving it your best shot, because that's what you do.”

Jack hoped his words were encouraging enough to stop Daniel from over thinking the whole situation, but he wouldn't hold his breath. In an attempt to lighten the mood, he did what he did best.

Letting his long fingers scuttle down Daniel's ribcage he said, “There's no way I'll let you go to bed in a mood like this. C'mon. Gimme a smile.”

Daniel grimaced. “Does this count as a smile?”

“Nope. Not even close.” Jack rolled his eyes. His hand crept under Daniel's t-shirt and poked his belly.

“I'm fine,” Daniel protested. “Stop it.” 

“I still didn't see that smile.” Jack grinned.

Daniel wriggled away from the tickling fingers and rolled off the couch. “Jaaaack!” He scampered to his feet and made a beeline for the two steps leading into the hallway. “I'm smiling, I'm smiling, I promise.”

Jack caught up to him fast, grabbed him around the middle and picked him up. “Okay, I believe you. Now it's time for bed,” he announced, throwing the little monkey over his shoulder like a sack of potatoes.

“Jack, I'm really not in the mood for....”

“Aw crap, I can't remember which direction your room is. This way? Or this?” Jack started spinning, slowly at first but gaining speed pretty fast. 

The first giggles emerged even as Daniel started smacking Jack's back with his hands. “Let go! I said I'm not...“

“I can't stop! I'm going into overload!” Jack yelled.

“You're sooo juvenile, Jack! You should have been downsized, not me!!” Daniel yelled back, but started laughing all the same.

Jack staggered dramatically as he stopped spinning. Pretending to lose his balance, he swayed and shambled into Daniel's room.

“STOP!” Daniel yelled. “Don't step on the Lego!” 

Jack almost dropped the kid as he came to an abrupt halt. Tiptoeing through the path he had cleared earlier, he made a big show of trying to avoid the Lego bricks while Daniel was still dangling over his shoulder.

In a heap of arms and legs and laughter they finally fell on the bed. Daniel, who had landed on top of Jack, smacked his older friend's arm. “You're squishing Amab under you!”

“Oh, that crappy little monkey again?” Jack got hold of the toy's tail and pulled it out from under himself. “He'll live.”

“Barely.” Daniel grinned and snatched it out of Jack's hands. “Now let me get ready for bed. It's gonna be a long day tomorrow. I expect lots of cake and candles and stuff.”

Jack snorted and did as he was told, but not without getting some reassurance at least. When Daniel returned from the bathroom smelling of toothpaste and wearing his night shirt, Jack gave him a questioning look. “Feeling better?”

Daniel crawled under his covers. “I guess.”

“Wanna tell me what happened before lunch?”

Daniel sighed theatrically. “No clue what you're talking about.”

“I might be a little thick at times. But even I noticed the two of you sulking over your chicken wings.”

“And you still won't let this go.” It wasn't a question. 

“Is this something you’re gonna brood over all night and then won't be able to enjoy your birthday party tomorrow because of it?”

Daniel thought about this for a moment. He picked up Amab again and absently stroked his brown fur. “We had a fight,” he finally said.

Jack waited.

“Al found my version of Budge and my notes in it.” Daniel scowled down at Amab as he told Jack about the argument he’d had with the other kid. “I was mad,” he finished. “Because Al didn't believe me about Egypt. But more about the fact that I'm trying to do stuff he likes and whenever I suggest something I'd like to do, he balks. I'm really trying, Jack. But even when we're doing something he likes, he gets bored soon and wants to do something else.” There was a lot frustration balled up in the little guy. Daniel exhaled deeply and continued. “The only good thing today was he wants to learn to read hieroglyphs. But who knows... maybe he'll already be tired of that on Monday.”

Jack tried to recall kiddie-fights from his experiences with Charlie and had to admit it had mostly been Sara who’d done the negotiating. Speaking of which... “Did you try talking to him about that? Does he even know you're just doing what he wants because you don't want to hurt his feelings?”

Daniel shrugged. “I'm just trying to be nice.”

“Maybe just being nice won't do the trick. You have to let him know there are things you like to do. And if you give in to what he wants, he has to do the same in turn. It's not much different than, you know, dealing with other people.”

“What if he gets mad and stays away?”

“If he does, he's not worth all the trouble,” Jack said simply. Sometimes he still puzzled over the fact that Daniel could keep a whole room of marines in line during a briefing, or work out treaties for alien allies and wield his tongue like a sword when arguing with him. And yet, he still seemed to be kind of tongue tied when it came to dealing with other kids. 

In this case, however, he suspected Daniel also put himself under a lot of pressure. He was so determined to help Al with those bullies, he wouldn't accept failure. Jack knew he had to keep a close eye on this development, and if necessary put his foot down if Daniel worked himself up over Al's issues too much.

“Just try not to brood over this all night,” he finally ended the discussion for now. “Take a break, enjoy the party. On Monday, if Al wants to come back, we'll work something out to help him. You're not alone in this, you know that, right?”

“I'm looking forward to the party,” Daniel changed the subject as he snuggled deeper into his pillow. He looked so kiddie-like and innocent, so much younger even than the eight, almost nine, year old he appeared to be. An odd mixture of pain and gratefulness surged through Jack as he smoothed down the covers. 

God, he'd miss his Wretch once he would be big again. But he had to count his blessings while they lasted. Having this Daniel here now, and finally see him enjoy some of what this second childhood offered, despite all the struggles and obstacles he still had to deal with. Who'd have thought Daniel would ever look forward to his own birthday party?

That definitely was a good development. Svenson was sure Daniel's wish to have a party for his birthday meant he was more in sync with himself. She had used other words like self acceptance and some psychological terms Jack had zoned out on. All he needed to know was that it was Daniel's birthday tomorrow and for the first time he was celebrating because he wanted to.

And he would make sure there were enough cake and candles.

For both his Daniels.


End file.
